Bragg: Sumo wrestling slow to grab hold in South Texas

By Roy Bragg :
April 25, 2012
: Updated: April 26, 2012 10:48am

Tom Zabel desperately wants to drum up interest in sumo wrestling in Texas, but sumo is not doing itself any favors.

Sumo wrestling, he's discovered, is a hard, hard sell.

To most of us, it's a fringe sport. We see two morbidly obese, shirtless Japanese guys, each adorned in a ceremonial sash worn diaper-style. They are grappling, grunting, gripping and shoving each other around.

There are no ripped and buff guys in sumo. And while there's lots of strategy involving geometry and gravity, none of that comes through to the casual observer.

Also of note to Joe Sixpack: sumo requires lots of squatting and personal space is routinely violated, both of which are major deal-breakers.

Given that, you can see why it's not setting San Antonio or the rest of the United States on fire. Zabel, president of Lone Star Sumo and the United States Sumo Federation, has been giving free classes and demonstrations since 2004, but interest is weak at best.

“If we give a demonstration and 20 people say they want to try it,” he says, “only one will show up and after the first class, he usually won't come back.”

The tepid response was apparent on a recent Thursday night, in a martial arts school along a dark stretch of Braun Road, as Zabel taught his weekly sumo class.

There are only three students present, two boys who have been doing it for months and an adult trying it for the first time.

As chronicled by my colleague, Jessica Belasco, in October, sumo is a tradition-rich sport, filled with pre- and post-match rituals. Combatants squat, bow and perform a series of hand motions that date back centuries.

Zabel got interested while stationed in Japan for the Air Force. He's a big guy, but would be considered puny at a Japanese sumo event.

Body fat, while not valued in most sports, can be a key weapon in sumo. But, Zabel tells his students, there are important strategic and technical aspects to the sport.

Sumo wrestlers slide their feet as they walk and do low-altitude hops, keeping their feet close the ground. The idea is that when airborne, a wrestler has no balance and no power.

Ideally, initial contact consists of two hands to the opponent's chest and a head to his sternum. (I write “his” because most participants are male, though there have been women in Zabel's class in previous years.)

Then the fun begins, as the wrestlers try to bull rush each other out of the 15-foot ring or knock their opponent off balance. If any part of a wrestler other than the feet touches the ground, he loses.

One trick involves a wrestler grabbing the other guy's mawashi — that's the ceremonial cloth — and pulling him in. But at the same time, he's pushing the guy away with his head. The goal is to make him lose balance.

Another move: wedge an arm under the opponent's arm, lift it, and hijack his forward momentum to steer him out of the ring.

During a practice match, Zabel suckered new student Andy Cortez into leaning in to gain leverage. After a few seconds, Zabel backed off and Cortez fell to the mat.

I don't know what they call it in sumo, but in basketball, that's called “pulling the chair” on a guy.

Even though Cortez is new, he's big. And even though Zabel is experienced and wasn't trying particularly hard, he was breathing heavily when they finished each 20-second match.

Zabel says he's got fewer than 10 active students at any given time.

Says Zabel: “It's not for everyone.”

But if you hear the siren grunting your name and are interested in sumo, go to

Meetup.com and search for “sumo” in “San Antonio” to contact Zabel.

There's a tournament Saturday and you can get information about it there.